Google announced that Popular Sources is coming to AI Review and AI Mode, alongside new article carousels and the extension of the “Most Cited” label to all search results.
Users have now selected more than 345,000 sources through Google’s Favorite Sources feature, up from about 90,000 when the company expanded the tool globally.
Preferred Sources for AI Overview and AI Mode
When Popular Sources are introduced, labels appear in Top Stories only. Google then expanded the feature to all languages in April.
Starting today, those labels will also appear on links within AI Overview and AI mode answers. Duncan Osborn, Product Manager for Google Search, said that users “will be able to easily see links to AI answers from sources that you’ve already selected.”
Google says people click on popular sources at twice the rate of other links. The company did not share how that metric was measured or what the comparison controls for user intent.
Google notes that websites can encourage visitors to choose them as a preferred resource, and points to their documentation page for tips on how to do that.
CEO Sundar Photosi mentioned the source favorite feature during his interview with Decoder, describing the system where user sites register to be treated as favorite sources and calling it “a new innovation that we didn’t have before.”
Article & Opinion Carousels
This announcement also includes new carousel formats for some search results on developing topics.
For some questions about trending news, you’ll start seeing a carousel of article links with a brief context, highlighting any Popular Sources in the mix. Google says this will “help make timely articles more visible for a variety of queries.”
The second carousel comes dedicated to seeing the person in person, showing content from forums and social media. Google noted that users will “soon see” this format, suggesting that it hasn’t been fully implemented yet.
Extension of the Most Cited Label
The “Highly Cited” badge expands to appear on additional web article links in general search results. The label identifies articles that other news stories often refer to, pointing users to the underlying reporting. It started in 2022 for top mobile news.
Today’s update adds a second label. The search results page will now also show if an article “clearly cites a Most Cited source.” That means users can see both the actual reporting and which tracking entries are quoting, all within the same set of results. The extension applies to regular search results, not specifically to AI mode or AI Overview.
Why This Matters
Popular Sources is now one of several user-controlled settings that can affect which sources stand out within AI-generated responses. For websites, the feature creates a direct link between audience loyalty and AI search visibility.
The 345,000 selected sources represent nearly four times the number reported by Google in December. That growth comes as Google expands Popular Sources to all languages and publishers begin promoting the feature to their audiences.
The Top Citations extension gives real reporting another visible label in search results. The two-index version, where Google also flags articles that refer to the Most Cited source, makes the citation relationship more visible and can benefit publishers who always cite their source.
Looking Forward
The Popular Sources labels in AI Overview and AI Mode are now out. Google did not share a timeline of the ideas carousel that contains the platform and social media content.
Google’s John Mueller recently talked about whether Popular Sources can override quality signals, explaining that the feature works alongside rating systems instead of overriding them.
Featured Image: Google
